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Myasthenia GravisFor support and discussions on Myasthenia Gravis, Congenital Myasthenic Syndromes and LEMS.

Vision risks with MG

In April, I suddenly had new floaters in my field of vision on the right side. I also had bright, flashing lights on that side. Since that was new and abnormal, I saw my ophthalmologist. She said I had a posterior vitreous detachment. Lovely.

As we age, the gel-like substance called vitreous, which is inside of the eye, can shrink. That can cause the vitreous to pull on the eye or retinal area. In my case, that also caused a little area of hemorrhage. That bleeding can be a sign of a retinal detachment.

I was then sent to see a retinal specialist. I had a lot of tests, including photos of my eye. I now have to followup with that specialist on a regular basis. You guys know how much fun those drops are! But having MG worse for a few days is better than losing my sight!

People with MG, due to long-standing ptosis, can have eyeballs that have a more oblong shape instead of a round one. That is a risk factor for having a vitreous detachment or retinal detachment. Being near-sighted is also a risk factor.

Those who have a PVD in one eye can tend to have one in the other. Since my right eye has been the dominantly droopy one since birth, I'm sure that's why this is happening. I hope the left one won't be affected.

I just thought you guys might want to be aware of this, given that the retinal specialist said that she sees a lot of MG patients!

I hope none of you will have to experience this. There's really nothing they can do about PVD. But I do know that strenuous activity isn't a good idea! They can do surgery (laser or otherwise) with a larger PVD or retinal detachment.

So if you have new floaters, flashing lights, or other new field of vision symptoms, see an ophthalmologist right away!

Thanks, Erin. Imagine a metal implement with a dull, flat end, and having them push on your eyelid to reposition your eye so that they can see different parts of the eye with a special lens/light. Yeah, great fun!

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